A voice from the valley

My good friend VJ sent me a link of Omar Abdullah being interviewed by Dawn, the Pakistani media group. Apropos of my below post on Kashmir and the Hurriyat, I am posting the link to the first part of the five part interview. It is a must watch. This man has conviction, no double standards, plain speaking and clearly a man with if not a vision, then at least a good sense of what needs to be done to bring change to Kashmir and I think India too. And most importantly he seems like a guy who can get things done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFDpQsVme2M

I would suggest that you watch all 5 parts. Very rarely does a politician elicit this level of respect. Especially watch out for his comments on nuclear weapons, on dear General Musharraf and best of all, his reaction when prodded about dynastic rule in politics. This was pre-Mumbai so the world has changed again since this interview but a lot of what he believes in would remain constant despite Mumbai. If India had a system of direct, individual election to the highest office, mine would go to this fellow without a moment's hesitation.